Multi-band millimeter wave network discovery

ABSTRACT

Multi-band signaling is described for reducing signaling overhead in an apparatus and method for communications within a mesh network. The communications involve using two different beacon signals on two different communication channels. Peer beacons are sent using directional millimeter-wave (mmW) communications to provide time synchronization and resource management information to maintain existing links among one or more neighboring peer stations. A separate network discovery beacon is sent over a sub-6 GHz communication channel, to provide mesh network profile information that identifies the mesh network to aid network discovery for wireless communication stations wanting to join the mesh network.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/776,166 filed on Jan. 29, 2020, incorporated herein by reference inits entirety, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser.No. 15/828,687 filed on Dec. 1, 2017, now U.S. Pat. No. 10/575,240,incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, which claims priorityto, and the benefit of, U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No.62/557,232 filed on Sep. 12, 2017, incorporated herein by reference inits entirety.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

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INCORPORATION-BY-REFERENCE OF COMPUTER PROGRAM APPENDIX

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NOTICE OF MATERIAL SUBJECT TO COPYRIGHT PROTECTION

A portion of the material in this patent document may be subject tocopyright protection under the copyright laws of the United States andof other countries. The owner of the copyright rights has no objectionto the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or thepatent disclosure, as it appears in the United States Patent andTrademark Office publicly available file or records, but otherwisereserves all copyright rights whatsoever. The copyright owner does nothereby waive any of its rights to have this patent document maintainedin secrecy, including without limitation its rights pursuant to 37C.F.R. § 1.14.

BACKGROUND 1. Technical Field

The technology of this disclosure pertains generally to directionalwireless communications between stations, and more particularly toutilizing multiple-bands for communicating network announcements andmaintaining peer communications.

2. Background Discussion

Millimeter wavelength (mm-wave or mmW) wireless networks, including meshnetworks and mixtures of mesh and non-mesh networks, are becomingincreasingly important. Due to the need of higher capacity, networkoperators have begun to embrace concepts to achieve densification. Useof current sub-6 GHz wireless technology is not sufficient to cope withhigh data demands. One alternative is to utilize additional spectrum inthe 30-300 GHz band, millimeter wave band (mmW).

Enabling mmW wireless systems in general requires properly dealing withthe channel impairments and propagation characteristics of the highfrequency bands. High free-space path loss, high penetration, reflectionand diffraction losses reduce the available diversity and limitnon-line-of-sight (NLOS) communications. The small wavelength of mmWenables the use of high-gain electronically steerable directionalantennas of practical dimensions. This can provide enough array gain toovercome path loss and ensure high Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) at thereceiver. Directional mesh networks in dense deployment environmentsusing mmW bands are an efficient way to achieve reliable communicationsbetween nodes and overcome line-of-sight channel restrictions.

A new station node starting up will be looking for neighboring nodes todiscover and a network to join. The process of initial access of a nodeto a network comprises scanning for neighboring nodes and discoveringall active nodes in the local vicinity. This can be performed eitherthrough the new node searching for a specific network/list of networksto join, or by the new node sending a broadcast request to join anyalready established network that will accept the new node.

A node connecting to a mesh network needs to discover neighboring nodesto decide on the best way to reach a gateway/portal mesh nodes and thecapabilities of each of these neighboring nodes. The new node examinesevery channel for possible neighboring nodes for a specific period oftime. If no active node is detected after that specific time, the newnode moves to test the next channel. When a node is detected, the newnode collects sufficient information to configure its PHY layer foroperation in the regulatory domain (IEEE, FCC, ETSI, MKK, etc.). Thistask is further challenging in mmWave communications due to directionaltransmissions. The challenges in this process can be summarized as: (a)knowledge of surrounding nodes IDs; (b) knowledge of best transmissionpattern for beamforming; (c) channel access issues due to collisions anddeafness; and (d) channel impairments due to blockage and reflections.Designing a neighborhood discovery method to overcome some or all of theabove is of utmost importance to enable pervasiveness of mmWave D2D andmesh technologies.

Most existing technologies for mesh networking address mesh discoverysolutions for networks operating in broadcast mode and is not targetedto networks with directional wireless communications. In addition, thosetechnologies which utilize directional wireless network communicationsoften have very high overhead demands in regards to the generation ofbeacon signals.

Accordingly, a need exists for enhanced mechanisms for announcement andbeaconing within a mmWave network. The present disclosure fulfills thatneed and provides additional benefits over previous technologies.

BRIEF SUMMARY

A system, apparatus, and/or method for establishing and maintainingmmWave communications in a mesh topology network without inducingsignificant signaling overhead or network discovery delay. In thedisclosed technology, multiple-band communications are utilized towardreducing signaling overhead in mesh networks.

Each node in the mesh network comprises a wireless communication circuitconfigured for wirelessly communicating with other wirelesscommunication stations utilizing both directional millimeter-wave (mmW)communication having a plurality of antenna pattern sectors each havingdifferent transmission directions, and sub-6 GHz wireless communication.The station programming can fulfill a number of roles, including a peerwithin a mesh network, or a new station seeking to join a mesh network.The station is configured for transmitting a peer beacon, usingdirectional mmW with a multiple antenna pattern sectors. The peer beaconincludes time synchronization and resource management information, whichis communicated to one or more neighboring peer stations within the meshnetwork. The peer stations also transmit a network discovery beaconsusing sub-6 GHz wireless communication. The network discovery beaconcontains mesh network profile information which identifies the meshnetwork, to aid network discovery for a new station to join the meshnetwork. Peer stations receive joining request frames via the sub-6 GHzwireless communication, in which the joining request announces the newstation along with capabilities of the new station and a request fromthe new station to any receiving stations of the mesh network requestingassistance in both finding neighbors and joining the mesh network.

A number of terms are utilized in the disclosure whose meanings aregenerally described below.

A-BFT: Association-Beamforming Training period; a period announced inthe beacons that is used for association and BF training of new stations(STAs) joining the network.

AP: Access Point; an entity that contains one station (STA) and providesaccess to the distribution services, through the wireless medium (WM)for associated STAs.

Beamforming (BF): a directional transmission that does not use anOmni-directional antenna pattern or quasi-Omni antenna pattern.Beamforming is used at a transmitter to improve received signal power orsignal-to-noise ratio (SNR) at an intended receiver.

BSS: Basic Service Set; a set of stations (STAs) that have successfullysynchronized with an AP in the network.

BI: the Beacon Interval is a cyclic super frame period that representsthe time between beacon transmission times.

BRP: BF Refinement protocol; a BF protocol that enables receivertraining and iteratively trains the transmitter and receiver sides toachieve the best possible directional communications.

BTI: Beacon Transmission Interval, is the interval between successivebeacon transmissions.

CBAP: Contention-Based Access Period; the time period within the datatransfer interval (DTI) of a directional multi-gigabit (DMG) BSS wherecontention-based enhanced distributed channel access (EDCA) is used.

DTI: Data Transfer Interval; the period whereby full BF training ispermitted followed by actual data transfer. It can include one or moreservice periods (SPs) and contention-based access periods (CBAPs).

MAC address: a Medium Access Control (MAC) address.

MBSS: Mesh Basic Service Set, a basic service set (BSS) that forms aself-contained network of Mesh Stations (MSTAs), and which may be usedas a distribution system (DS).

MCS: Modulation and Coding Scheme; defines an index that can betranslated into the PHY layer data rate.

MSTA: Mesh Station (MSTA): a station (STA) that implements the Meshfacility. An MSTA that operates in the Mesh BSS may provide thedistribution services for other MSTAs.

Omni-directional: a non-directional antenna mode of transmission.

Quasi-Omni directional: a directional multi-gigabit (DMG) antennaoperating mode with the widest beamwidth attainable.

Receive sector sweep (RXSS): Reception of Sector Sweep (SSW) frames viadifferent sectors, in which a sweep is performed between consecutivereceptions.

RSSI: Receive Signal Strength Indicator (in dBm).

SLS: Sector-level Sweep phase: a BF training phase that can include asmany as four components: an Initiator Sector Sweep (ISS) to train theinitiator, a Responder Sector Sweep (RSS) to train the responder link,such as using SSW Feedback and an SSW ACK.

SNR: received Signal-to-Noise Ratio in dB.

SP: Service Period; The SP that is scheduled by the access point (AP).Scheduled SPs start at fixed intervals of time.

Spectral efficiency: the information rate that can be transmitted over agiven bandwidth in a specific communication system, usually expressed inbits per second, or in Hertz.

SSID: service Set Identifier; the name assigned to a WLAN network.

STA: Station; a logical entity that is a singly addressable instance ofa medium access control (MAC) and physical layer (PHY) interface to thewireless medium (WM).

Sweep: a sequence of transmissions, separated by a short beamforminginterframe space (SBIFS) interval, in which the antenna configuration atthe transmitter or receiver is changed between transmissions.

SSW: Sector Sweep, is an operation in which transmissions are performedin different sectors (directions) and information collected on receivedsignals, strengths and so forth.

Transmit Sector Sweep (TXSS): transmission of multiple Sector Sweep(SSW) or Directional Multi-gigabit (DMG) Beacon frames via differentsectors, in which a sweep is performed between consecutivetransmissions.

Further aspects of the technology described herein will be brought outin the following portions of the specification, wherein the detaileddescription is for the purpose of fully disclosing preferred embodimentsof the technology without placing limitations thereon.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S)

The technology described herein will be more fully understood byreference to the following drawings which are for illustrative purposesonly:

FIG. 1 is a timing diagram of active scanning performed in an IEEE802.11 wireless local area network (WLAN).

FIG. 2 is a node diagram for a mesh network showing a combination ofmesh and non-mesh stations.

FIG. 3 is a data field diagram depicting a mesh identification elementfor an IEEE 802.11 WLAN.

FIG. 4 is a data field diagram depicting a mesh configuration elementfor an IEEE 802.11 WLAN.

FIG. 5 is a schematic of antenna sector sweeping (SSW) in the IEEE802.11ad protocol.

FIG. 6 is a signaling diagram showing signaling of sector-level sweeping(SLS) in the IEEE 802.11ad protocol.

FIG. 7 is a data field diagram depicting a sector sweep (SSW) frameelement for IEEE 802.11ad.

FIG. 8 is a data field diagram depicting the SSW field within the SSWframe element for IEEE 802.11ad.

FIG. 9A and FIG. 9B are data field diagrams depicting SSW feedbackfields shown when transmitted as part of an ISS in FIG. 9A, and when nottransmitted as part of an ISS in FIG. 9B, as utilized for IEEE 802.11ad.

FIG. 10 is a wireless node topology example of wireless mmWave nodes ina wireless network as utilized according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram of station hardware as utilized according toan embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 12 is a mmW beam pattern diagram for the station hardware of

FIG. 11 as utilized according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 13 is a beam pattern diagram for a secondary band communicationsantenna (i.e., sub-6 GHz), according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 14 is an antenna pattern map of a coverage area for sub-6 GHzannouncement frames sent by a mesh node according to an embodiment ofthe present disclosure.

FIG. 15 is an antenna pattern map of a coverage area for sub-6 GHzannouncement frames sent by a new node seeking to join the mesh networkaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 16A through FIG. 16C is a wireless node topology and associateddiscovery beacon sweeping according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 17A and FIG. 17B is a wireless node topology upon which bracketingof best sector communications directions are performed according to anembodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 18 is a communication period diagram showing a peer DMG beaconsuper frame format as utilized according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 19 is a flow diagram of sub-6 GHz assisted mesh node passivescanning according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 20 is a flow diagram of sub-6 GHz assisted mesh node activescanning according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 21 is a communication period diagram showing a master beacon nodesuper frame format as utilized according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 22 is a communication period diagram showing discovery throughscheduled beacon transmission and SSW frame exchange according to anembodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 23A and FIG. 23B is a message passing diagram for out of band nodediscovery according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 24A and FIG. 24B is a message passing diagram for mesh coordinatedmmW node discovery according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 25 is a message passing diagram for out of band mesh assisteddiscovery through coordination with nodes in the geographic discoveryzone according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 26A and FIG. 26B is a communication period diagram depictingdiscovery assistance utilizing mmW discovery beacons according to anembodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 27A and FIG. 27B is a communication period diagram depictingassisted discovery at DTI according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 28 is a node sector coverage diagram showing geographical sectorcoverage between nodes utilized according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 29 is a node sector coverage diagram showing sector coveragebetween nodes with effects of movement of a new node through thecoverage area as responded to according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION 1. Existing Directional Wireless Network Technology1.1. WLAN Systems

In WLAN systems, 802.11 defines two modes of scanning; passive andactive scanning. The following are the characteristics of passivescanning. (a) A new station (STA), attempting to join a network,examines each channel and waits for beacon frames for up toMaxChannelTime. (b) If no beacon is received, then the new STA moves toanother channel, thus saving battery power since the new STA does nottransmit any signal in scanning mode. The STA should wait enough time ateach channel so that it does not miss the beacons. If a beacon is lost,the STA should wait for another beacon transmission interval (BTI).

The following are the characteristics of active scanning. (a) A new STAwanting to join a local network sends probe request frames on eachchannel, according to the following. (a)(1) STA moves to a channel,waits for incoming frames or a probe delay timer to expire. (a)(2) If noframe is detected after the timer expires, the channel is considered tobe not in use. (a)(3) If a channel is not in use, the STA moves to a newchannel. (a)(4) If a channel is in use, the STA gains access to themedium using regular DCF and sends a probe request frame. (a)(5) The STAwaits for a desired period of time (e.g., Minimum Channel Time) toreceive a response to the probe request if the channel was never busy.The STA waits for more time (e.g., Maximum Channel Time) if the channelwas busy and a probe response was received.

(b) A Probe Request can use a unique service set identifier (SSID), listof SSIDs or a broadcast SSID. (c) Active scanning is prohibited in somefrequency bands. (d) Active scanning can be a source of interference andcollision, especially if many new STAs arrive at the same time and areattempting to access the network. (e) Active scanning is a faster way(more rapid) for STAs to gain access to the network compared to the useof passive scanning, since STAs do not need to wait for beacons. (f) Ininfrastructure basic service set (BSS) and IBSS, at least one STA isawake to receive and respond to probes. (g) STAs in mesh basic serviceset (MBSS) might not be awake at any point of time to respond. (h) Whenradio measurement campaigns are active, nodes might not answer the proberequests. (i) Collision of probe responses can arise. STAs mightcoordinate the transmission of probe responses by allowing the STA thattransmitted the last beacon to transmit the first Probe Response. Othernodes can follow and use back-off times and regular distributedcoordination function (DCF) channel access to avoid collision.

FIG. 1 depicts the use of active scanning in an IEEE 802.11 WLAN,depicting a scanning station sending a probe and two responding stationswhich receive and respond to the probe. The figure also shows theminimum and maximum probe response timing. The values G1 is shown set toSIFS which is the interframe spacing prior to transmission of anacknowledgment, while G3 is DIFS which is DCF interframe spacing,represented the time delay for which a sender waits after completing abackoff period before sending an RTS package.

1.2. IEEE 802.11s mesh WLAN

The IEEE 802.11s (hereafter 802.11s) is a standard that adds wirelessmesh networking capabilities to the 802.11 standard. In 802.11s newtypes of radio stations are defined as well as new signaling to enablemesh network discovery, establishing peer-to-peer connection, androuting of data through the mesh network.

FIG. 2 illustrates one example of a mesh network where a mix of non-meshSTA connect to Mesh-STA/AP (solid lines) and Mesh STAs connect to othermesh STA (dotted lines) including a mesh portal. Nodes in mesh networksuse the same scanning techniques defined in the 802.11 standard fordiscovering neighbors. The identification of the mesh network is givenby the Mesh ID element contained in the Beacon and the Probe Responseframes. In one mesh network, all mesh STAs use the same mesh profile.Mesh profiles are considered the same if all parameters in the meshprofiles match. The mesh profile is included in the Beacon and ProbeResponse frames, so that the mesh profile can be obtained by itsneighbor mesh STAs through the scan.

When a mesh STA discovers a neighbor mesh STA through the scanningprocess, the discovered mesh STA is considered a candidate peer meshSTA. It may become a member of the mesh network, of which the discoveredmesh STA is a member, and establish a mesh peering with the neighbormesh STA. The discovered neighbor mesh STA may be considered a candidatepeer mesh STA when the mesh STA uses the same mesh profile as thereceived Beacon or Probe Response frame indicates for the neighbor meshSTA.

The mesh STA attempts to maintain the discovered neighbor's informationin a Mesh Neighbors Table which includes: (a) neighbor MAC address; (b)operating channel number; and (c) the most recently observed link statusand quality information. If no neighbors are detected, the mesh STAadopts the Mesh ID for its highest priority profile and remains active.All the previous signaling to discover neighbor mesh STAs are performedin broadcast mode. It should be appreciated that 802.11s was nottargeted for networks with directional wireless communications.

FIG. 3 depicts a Mesh Identification element (Mesh ID element) which isused to advertise the identification of a Mesh Network. Mesh ID istransmitted in a Probe request, by a new STA willing to join a meshnetwork, and in beacon and signals, by existing mesh network STAs. AMesh ID field of length 0 indicates the wildcard Mesh ID, which is usedwithin a Probe Request frame. A wildcard Mesh ID is a specific ID thatprevents a non-mesh STA from joining a mesh network. It should berecognized that a mesh station is a STA that has more features than anon-mesh station, for example, it is like having the STA running as amodule in additional to some other modules to serve the meshfunctionality. If the STA does not have this mesh module it should notbe allowed to connect to a mesh network.

FIG. 4 depicts a Mesh configuration element as contained in Beaconframes and Probe Response frames transmitted by mesh STAs, and it isused to advertise mesh services. The main contents of the MeshConfiguration elements are: (a) a path selection protocol identifier;(b) a path selection metric identifier; (c) a congestion control modeidentifier; (d) a synchronization method identifier; and (e) anauthentication protocol identifier. The contents of the MeshConfiguration Element together with the Mesh ID form a mesh profile.

The standard 802.11a defines many procedures and mesh functionalitiesincluding: mesh discovery, mesh peering management, mesh security, meshbeaconing and synchronization, mesh coordination function, mesh powermanagement, mesh channel switching, three address, four address, andextended address frame formats, mesh path selection and forwarding,interworking with external networks, intra-mesh congestion control andemergency service support in mesh BSS.

1.3. Millimeter Wave in WLAN

WLANs in millimeter wave bands generally require the use of directionalantennas for transmission, reception or both, to account for the highpath loss and to provide sufficient SNR for communication. Usingdirectional antennas in transmission or reception makes the scanningprocess directional as well. IEEE 802.11ad and the new standard 802.11aydefine procedures for scanning and beamforming for directionaltransmission and reception over the millimeter wave band.

1.4. IEEE 802.11ad Scanning and BF Training

An example of a mmWave WLAN state-of-the-art system is the 802.11adstandard.

1.4.1. Scanning

A new STA operates on passive or active scanning modes to scan for aspecific SSID, a list of SSIDs, or all discovered SSIDs. To passivelyscan, a STA scans for DMG beacon frames containing the SSID. To activelyscan: a DMG STA transmit Probe Request frames containing the desiredSSID or one or more SSID List elements. The DMG STA might also have totransmit DMG Beacon frames or perform beamforming training prior to thetransmission of Probe Request frames.

1.4.2. BF Training

BF training is a bidirectional sequence of BF training frametransmissions that uses a sector sweep and provides the necessarysignaling to allow each STA to determine appropriate antenna systemsettings for both transmission and reception.

The 802.11ad BF training process can be performed in three phases. (1) Asector level sweep phase is performed whereby directional transmissionwith low gain (quasi-Omni) reception is performed for link acquisition.(2) A refinement stage is performed that adds receive gain and finaladjustment for combined transmit and receive. (3) Tracking is thenperformed during data transmission to adjust for channel changes.

1.4.3. 802.11ad SLS BF Training Phase

This focuses on the sector level sweep (SLS) mandatory phase of the802.11ad standard. During SLS, a pair of STAs exchange a series ofsector sweep (SSW) frames (or beacons in case of transmit sectortraining at the PCP/AP) over different antenna sectors to find the oneproviding highest signal quality. The station that transmits first iscalled the initiator; the station that transmits second is referred toas the responder.

During a transmit sector sweep (TXSS), SSW frames are transmitted ondifferent sectors while the pairing node (the responder) receivesutilizing a quasi-Omni directional pattern. The responder determines theantenna array sector from the initiator which provided the best linkquality (e.g. SNR).

FIG. 5 depicts the concept of sector sweep (SSW) in 802.11ad. In thisfigure, an example is given in which STA 1 is an initiator of the SLSand STA 2 is the responder. STA 1 sweeps through all of the transmitantenna pattern fine sectors while STA 2 receives in a quasi-Omnipattern. STA 2 feeds back to STA 1 the best sector it received from STA1.

FIG. 6 illustrates the signaling of the sector-level sweep (SLS)protocol as implemented in 802.11ad specifications. Each frame in thetransmit sector sweep includes information on sector countdownindication (CDOWN), a Sector ID, and an Antenna ID. The best Sector IDand Antenna ID information are fed back with the Sector Sweep Feedbackand Sector Sweep ACK frames.

FIG. 7 depicts the fields for the sector sweep frame (an SSW frame) asutilized in the 802.11ad standard, with the fields outlined below. TheDuration field is set to the time until the end of the SSW frametransmission. The RA field contains the MAC address of the STA that isthe intended receiver of the sector sweep. The TA field contains the MACaddress of the transmitter STA of the sector sweep frame.

FIG. 8 illustrates data elements within the SSW field. The principleinformation conveyed in the SSW field is as follows. The Direction fieldis set to 0 to indicate that the frame is transmitted by the beamforminginitiator and set to 1 to indicate that the frame is transmitted by thebeamforming responder. The CDOWN field is a down-counter indicating thenumber of remaining DMG Beacon frame transmissions to the end of theTXSS. The sector ID field is set to indicate sector number through whichthe frame containing this SSW field is transmitted. The DMG Antenna IDfield indicates which DMG antenna the transmitter is currently using forthis transmission. The RXSS Length field is valid only when transmittedin a CBAP and is reserved otherwise. This RXSS Length field specifiesthe length of a receive sector sweep as required by the transmittingSTA, and is defined in units of a SSW frame. The SSW Feedback field isdefined below.

FIG. 9A and FIG. 9B depict SSW feedback fields. The format shown in FIG.9A is utilized when transmitted as part of an Internal Sublayer Service(ISS), while the format of FIG. 9B is used when not transmitted as partof an ISS. The Total Sectors in the ISS field indicate the total numberof sectors that the initiator uses in the ISS. The Number of RX DMGAntennas subfield indicates the number of receive DMG antennas theinitiator uses during a subsequent Receive Sector Sweep (RSS). TheSector Select field contains the value of the Sector ID subfield of theSSW field within the frame that was received with best quality in theimmediately preceding sector sweep. The DMG Antenna Select fieldindicates the value of the DMG Antenna ID subfield of the SSW fieldwithin the frame that was received with best quality in the immediatelypreceding sector sweep. The SNR Report field is set to the value of theSNR from the frame that was received with best quality during theimmediately preceding sector sweep, and which is indicated in the sectorselect field. The poll required field is set to 1 by a non-PCP/non-APSTA to indicate that it requires the PCP/AP to initiate communicationwith the non-PCP/non-AP. The Poll Required field is set to 0 to indicatethat the non-PCP/non-AP has no preference about whether the PCP/APinitiates the communication.

2. Problem Statement

Current millimeter wave (mmWave) communication systems, as described inthe previous section, typically need to rely heavily on directionalcommunication to gain sufficient link budget between transmitter andreceiver. In current systems, this process of determining the properbeam for use requires significant signaling overhead. For example, theAP transmits multiple beacon frames with transmit beam forming.

The beacon frames are used for network discovery purposes, i.e., passivescanning. For this reason, beacon frames are transmitted periodically,so that a new STA can recognize the existence of the network byperforming passive scanning in a certain time period. Network discoverycan also be achieved using active scanning in which the new nodetransmits probe requests in all directions to make sure it is receivableby a nearby node in the network.

To further complicate the situation, current technology is trendingtoward the use of finer beam forming, which allows higher antenna gainto secure a higher link budget. However, the overhead problem is furtherexacerbated when the STA employs finer beams, because the STA is thentransmitting a larger number of beacon frames to cover a sufficienttransmission angle. Beacons are transmitted all the time in alldirections, as well as periodically, to announce the network, maintainsynchronization and manage the network resources.

In view of the above, an important trade-off exists between beaconingoverhead and network discovery delay. If beacons are transmittedfrequently, then the beaconing overhead increases, although this allowsa new STA to find the existing network more quickly. If beacons aretransmitted less frequently, the beaconing overhead can be decreased,however, it would be difficult for a new STA to find the existingnetwork in a rapid manner.

When considering the task of forming a mesh network utilizing mmWave PHYtechnology, this overhead dilemma becomes even worse. A STA connectingto a mesh network needs to discover all neighboring STAs to decide onthe best way to reach gateway/portal mesh STAs and the capabilities ofeach of these neighboring STAs. This means that all the STAs joining amesh network should have the capability of beaconing which leads tosignificant signaling overhead.

Accordingly, the present disclosure is configured for addressing thesecurrent and future beacon overhead challenges.

3. Benefits of mmWave Multi-Band Network Discovery

In the disclosed network protocol, nodes participating in the multi-bandnetwork discovery are expected to have multi-band (MB) capabilities,comprising mmWave band capability, and also including a lower frequencycommunication band, such as sub-6 GHz. MB nodes are capable of usingsub-6 GHz band for network announcement and discovery in addition to themmW band. By utilizing the proposed technologies, mmWave communicationnodes can form a mesh topology network without being subject tosignificant signaling overhead or network discovery delay.

The disclosure describes a mechanism for utilizing the alreadyestablished sub-6 GHz network for aiding new nodes in finding otherneighbors. A network node announces the mmW network on the sub-6 GHzband with a reduced power message sent periodically from a Quasi-omniantenna. Once the new STA discovers at least one neighbor through thesub-6 GHz band, this mesh station (MSTA) can assist the new node, andcan also coordinate with other mesh nodes to assist the new STA in themmW band to beamform and join the network.

In the present disclosure, station nodes are not sending beacons in alldirections all the time in the mmW band. Nodes are triggered to send thediscovery beacons in all directions upon a new node requestingassistance, whereas the overhead and interference associated withcontinuous beacon transmission in all directions is limited.

4. Multi-Band Network Discovery Embodiments 4.1. Topology UnderConsideration

FIG. 10 illustrates an example embodiment 10 of a network of mmWwireless nodes, in which mesh STA (MSTA) nodes 12, 14, 16 and 18 areconnected in a mesh topology with each other. A new STA 20 is scanning24, depicting directions 22 a-22 n, the communication medium forpotential neighboring MSTA and pair nodes. In the example shown, nodesare capable of communicating on a sub-6GHz band as well as mmWave andcan use this band to send control signals between each other. Nodes thatare connected to the mmW mesh network can access each other through themmW links or through the sub-6 GHz band.

The new STA is scanning the medium for potential neighboring MSTA andpair nodes. For the mmW wave, directional transmission or reception isnot required at all times at both sides. One side for example may beusing directional transmission/reception while the other side does not.This case may be the result of limited device capabilities orapplication requirements where there is no need for directionaltransmission from both sides (limiting interference/small distance).

New nodes can use Omni/Quasi Omni directional or directional antennasfor transmission and reception in the mmW band. MSTAs can use Omni/QuasiOmni directional or directional antennas for transmission and receptionin the mmW band. For the mmW communications, at least one MSTA node orthe new STA should use the directional antenna to provide sufficientgain to account for path loss and provide enough SNR for the link. Thenew STA scans for neighbors using either passive or active scanning. Thenew STA is configured to keep scanning until it finds all neighboringnodes. After the list of available neighbors is constructed by the newnode, a decision about which neighbor to connect to is made. Thisdecision preferably takes into account application demands, trafficloading in the network and wireless channel status.

4.2. STA Hardware Configuration

FIG. 11 depicts an example embodiment 30 of node hardware configuration.In this example a computer processor (CPU) 36 and memory (RAM) 38 arecoupled to a bus 34, which is coupled to an I/O path 32 giving the nodeexternal I/O, such as to sensors, actuators and so forth. Instructionsfrom memory are executed on processor 36 to execute a program whichimplements the communication protocols. This host machine is shownconfigured with a mmW modem 40 coupled to radio-frequency (RF) circuitry42 a, 42 b, 42 c to a plurality of antennas 44 a-44 n, 46 a, 46 n, 48a-48 n to transmit and receive frames with neighboring nodes. Inaddition, the host machine is also seen with a sub-6 GHz modem 50coupled to radio-frequency (RF) circuitry 52 to antenna(s) 54.

Thus, this host machine is shown configured with two modems (multi-band)and their associated RF circuitry for providing communication on twodifferent bands. The mmW band modem and its associated RF circuitriesare transmitting and receiving data in the mmW band. The Sub-6GHz modemand its associated RF circuitry are transmitting and receiving data inthe sub-6 GHz band.

Although three RF circuits are shown in this example for the mmW band,embodiments of the present disclosure can be configured with modem 40coupled to any arbitrary number of RF circuits. In general, using alarger number of RF circuits will result in broader coverage of theantenna beam direction. It should be appreciated that the number of RFcircuits and number of antennas being utilized is determined by hardwareconstraints of a specific device. Some of the RF circuitry and antennasmay be disabled when the STA determines it is unnecessary to communicatewith neighbor STAs. In at least one embodiment, the RF circuitryincludes frequency converter, array antenna controller, and so forth,and is connected to multiple antennas which are controlled to performbeamforming for transmission and reception. In this way the STA cantransmit signals using multiple sets of beam patterns, each beam patterndirection being considered as an antenna sector.

FIG. 12 illustrates an example embodiment 70 of mmWave antennadirections which can be utilized by a node to generate a plurality(e.g., 36) of mmWave antenna sector patterns. In this example, the nodeimplements three RF circuits 72 a, 72 b, 72 c and connected antennas,and each RF circuitry and connected antenna generate a beamformingpattern 74 a, 74 b, 74 c. Antenna pattern 74 a is shown having twelvebeamforming patterns 76 a, 76 b, 76 c, 76 d, 76 e, 76 f, 76 g, 76 h, 76i, 76 j, 76 k and 76 n (“n” representing that any number of patterns canbe supported). The example station using this specific configuration hasthirty six (36) antenna sectors. However, for the sake of clarity andease of explanation, the following sections generally describe nodeshaving a smaller number of antenna sectors. It should be appreciatedthat any arbitrary beam pattern can be mapped to an antenna sector.Typically, the beam pattern is formed to generate a sharp beam, but itis possible that the beam pattern is generated to transmit or receivesignals from multiple angles.

Antenna sector is determined by a selection of mmWave RF circuity andbeamforming commanded by the mmWave array antenna controller. Althoughit is possible that STA hardware components have different functionalpartitions from the one described above, such configurations can bedeemed to be a variant of the explained configuration. Some of themmWave RF circuitry and antennas may be disabled when the nodedetermines it is unnecessary to communicate with neighbor nodes.

In at least one embodiment, the RF circuitry includes frequencyconverter, array antenna controller, and so forth, and is connected tomultiple antennas which are controlled to perform beamforming fortransmission and reception. In this way the node can transmit signalsusing multiple sets of beam patterns, each beam pattern direction beingconsidered as an antenna sector.

FIG. 13 illustrates an example embodiment 90 of antenna pattern for thesub-6 GHz modem assumed to use a Quasi-Omni antenna 94 attached to itsRF circuitry 92.

4.3. Multi-Band Network Discovery Architecture

Wireless receivers and transmitters are expected to be shipped withmulti-band chips that include for example, the use of the mmW band aswell as a sub-6 GHz band. Operation in mmWave band can benefit fromsub-6 GHz coverage in nodes discovery and neighbors scanning. Thecharacteristics of signal propagation in the sub-6 GHz band can allow anode to more simply discover the existence of a mesh network, howeverlocalization of neighbors and finding the right sector or beam is stillan issue.

To use multi-band network discovery, mesh nodes are assumed to be ableto communicate with each other on the sub-6 GHz band. This is in theform of sending messages to all nodes of the network or sending amessage to a specific node. This can be performed through directcommunication between nodes or through multi-hop communication betweennodes. New nodes are equipped with sub-6 GHz access as well, and canaccess the WLAN network or communicate with mesh nodes through sub-6 GHzcommunication. Discovery and network announcement can be performedutilizing the sub-6 GHz band, while forming the connectivity andmaintaining the link is preferably carried out utilizing the mmWnetwork. It should be appreciated that other control signaling can bemoved to sub-6 GHz, as well, but that is not the focus of the presentdisclosure.

In mmW WLAN and mesh networks, beacons are utilized for: (a) networkdiscovery and association for new mesh nodes; (b) synchronization; (c)spectrum access and resource management. For discovery and networkannouncement at mm wavelengths, the beacons have to be transmitted inall directions all the time in case of passive scanning. It will beappreciated that the meaning of “all the time” in the above statementonly indicates a continued periodic nature of the beacons, while “alldirections” only refers to using a sweep of directions to any desiredangular resolution. In the case of active scanning, nodes transmit proberequests in all directions.

In the proposed system, nodes are using sub-6 GHz for discovery andnetwork announcement, while synchronization, spectrum access andresource management information are still communicated through the mmWmesh network. Nodes that are already connected to each other in the mmWnetwork still send beacons to each other only in the direction of thepeer node or around this direction. Thus, beacons are not transmitted inall directions.

Announcement frames are sent through the sub 6-GHz band indicating theexistence of a mmW network in the vicinity. The power output of thisannouncement frame is preferably adjusted (e.g., dynamically orstatically) to only reach nodes within reach of the associated mmWsignal, so as not to draw in nodes which are beyond the network in termsof mmWave communications.

The reception of the announcement frame by the new node or the mesh nodecan trigger a mmW discovery campaign by nodes in the vicinity of the newnode to help finding the right sectors and neighbors for the new node tojoin the mmW network. The mmW discovery campaign involves other nodesaround the new node sending beacons in sequential order to aid the newnode in discovering the neighbors and their directionality information.

FIG. 14 and FIG. 15 illustrate an example embodiments 110, 130 ofutilizing the sub-6 GHz band to send lower power announcement frames toother nodes to announce the network or announce a new node requestingassistance to join a network.

In FIG. 14 a mesh network 110 is seen with MSTA A 112, as well as nodes114, 116, 118, 120 and a new node 122. In this example MSTA A istransmitting sub-6 GHz announcement frames to a reduced announcementframe area 124. It will be seen that if the transmit power of this sub-6GHz announcement frame were sufficient 126 to cover the breadth of themesh, including node 120 at the right of the figure, then nodes at otherportions of the figure (e.g., left, up and down) would be led to believethey could join the network, but would actually be out of range of themmW capability of the network.

In FIG. 15 a mesh network 130 is seen with MSTA A 112, as well as nodes114, 116, 118, 120 and a new node 122. In this example the new node 122is transmitting sub-6 GHz announcement frames as a joining request to areduced announcement frame area 132. Similarly, it will be seen that ifthe transmit power of this sub-6 GHz announcement frame were sufficient134 to cover the breadth of the mesh, including node 120 at the right ofthe figure, then nodes in the mesh outside of mmWave communication rangeof the new node, such as nodes 114, 116 and 120, could be triggered intoresponding to the new nodes join request, despite them being unable todirectly communicate using mmWave with the new node.

4.4. Beaconing in the mmWave Network

Beaconing in the multi-band network is still occurring using mmWaves,but this is taking place only towards the peer nodes using communicationor peer beacons. The communication or peer beacons are utilized forcommunication between peers with already established (setup)connections. This beacon can be utilized for carrying out functionsrelated to maintaining synchronization, performing beam tracking andmanaging channel access and resources between mesh nodes in the network.Each mesh node sweeps beacons in sectors corresponding to directions ofneighbor nodes only and transmits beacons to its neighbors only.

FIG. 16A through FIG. 16C illustrate aspects of a simple mmW networkembodiment 150 considered by way of example and not limitation. In FIG.16A example embodiment 150 is seen with three nodes 152, 154, and 156.In FIG. 16B beacons are shown transmitting from STA node 152, showingpeer beacons being swept 156 a, 156 b in directions corresponding tobest sectors towards nodes 154 and 156. In FIG. 16C STA node 152 sweeps162 discovery beacons to cover a specific spatial area from 160 a, 160b, 160 c, 160 d, and 160 e. The present disclosure utilizes thesebeacons only in the directions from node A corresponding to nodes C andB as shown in FIG. 16B compared to what is traditionally used.

FIG. 17A and FIG. 17B illustrate an example embodiment 170 of providingadditional robustness, by performing transmissions on one or moresectors around (bracketing) the determined best sector. In FIG. 17A nodeA 152 is seen in relation to node B 154 with the best sector (path)being direction 186 as seen in FIG. 17B. So although node A incommunicating with node B has best sector 186, the presented protocolalso selects one or more additional sectors 182, 184, on each side ofthis best sector to improve communications robustness, especially inview of the fact that node B may be moving in relation to node A.

It should be appreciated that the above peer beacons should be easilycoordinated since the direction and the timing is known for each peerlink. This results in limiting and managing interference due to thetransmission of beacons in all directions.

FIG. 18 illustrates an example embodiment 190 of a mmWave peer DMGbeacon super frame format, for the present disclosure in which beaconsare only transmitted in the direction of these two peer nodes, thusmaking the BTI process much shorter. In the figure the transmissionincludes peer beacons 192 shown exemplified for two peers as a beacon194 to peer 1 and a beacon 196 to peer 2, followed by anassociation-beamforming training (ABFT) period 198 to peer 1, and anABFT period 199 to peer 2, after which the data transfer interval (DTI)200 commences. The ABFT period in this case can be pre-assigned to thepeers associated with the transmitted beacons since no other nodes areexpected to use this period of time.

4.5. Out of Band Discovery

Mesh nodes can transmit and receive on the sub-6 GHz band. Thus, aperiodic announcement frame can be broadcast on the sub-6 GHz band aboutthe existence and capability of the mmW network. A new node attemptingto access the mmW mesh network can send an announcement request frame onthe sub-6 GHz band to inform the nodes of its existence. The managementof the mesh node announcement frame response, or the new nodeannouncement request, can be distributed or centralized. A new node canutilize either passive or active scanning to search for nodes anddiscover neighbors in the network.

To limit interference and make sure that only nodes that can be accessedwith a direct mmW link are accessed, the announcement frames are sentwith lower power to reflect the mmW link budget. The required transmitpower for the announcement frames can be determined such that frames areonly received by a node if the link budget in the mmW band allows for aviable data link in the mmW network with that node.

If the announcement frames are transmitted with full power, a thresholdis then utilized in at least one embodiment in the receiving node, todecide whether to respond to this frame, or to not response as it willbe outside the mmW mesh node coverage area. The determination of thisthreshold can be performed such that frames are only considered if thelink budget in the mmW band allows for a viable data link in the mmWnetwork.

A new node can utilize passive scanning for mmW network on the sub-6 GHzband, or active scanning for mmW network on the sub-6 GHz band.

4.5.1. Passive Scanning

A new node listens to the sub-6 GHz band awaiting an announcement framesent from one of the nodes. The transmission and reception preferablyuses Quasi-Omni antennas. Once an announcement frame is found, the newnode switches to the mmW band to connect with the discovered node. Thediscovered nodes start transmitting beacons in the mmW band to beamformwith the new node. The node can use directionality information from thesub-6 GHz band, like the direction of the LOS or the strongestreflecting ray, to only send beacons through some of the beams in themmW band.

If mesh assistance is enabled, the discovered nodes trigger other nodesin the surrounding area of the new node to start sending beacons to thenew node and perform beamforming therewith. The transmission of thebeacons can be coordinated between the mesh nodes to achieve quickconnectivity and discovery of nodes.

FIG. 19 illustrates an example embodiment 210 of a process in which meshnodes are handling new nodes according to passive scanning. The routinestarts 212 and then sends 214 a mmW network announcement frames on thesub-6 GHz band. At block 216, if no announcement response is received,then execution returns to block 214 and sending of a subsequentannouncement. Otherwise, if an announcement response is received, then adetermination is made 218 if mesh assistance is enabled. If meshassistance is not enabled, then block 222 is reached which triggers nodemmW discovery, before returning back to block 214 and sending a networkannouncement. However, if mesh assistance is enabled, then block 220 isreached which triggers mesh assisted coordinated mmW discovery, beforereturning back to block 214 and sending a network announcement.

4.5.2. Active Scanning

In active scanning, the new node sends an announcement frame request atthe sub-6 GHz band and waits for an announcement frame response sentfrom one of the nodes. In at least one preferred embodiment, thetransmission and reception of these communications utilize Quasi-Omniantennas. Once an announcement frame response is received, the new nodeswitches to the mmW band to connect with the discovered node. Thediscovered nodes starts transmitting beacons in the mmW band to beamformwith the new node. The node can use directionality information from thesub-6 GHz band, like the direction of the LOS or the strongestreflecting ray, to only send beacons through some of the beams in themmW band.

If mesh assistance is enabled, the discovered nodes trigger other nodesin the vicinity of the new node to start sending beacons to the new nodeand perform beamforming. The transmission of the beacons can becoordinated between the mesh nodes to achieve quick connectivity andnode discovery.

FIG. 20 illustrates an example embodiment 230 of a process in which meshnodes are handling new nodes according to an active scanning. Theroutine starts 232 and then starts listening to announcement requestframes 234. A check is made 236 if an announcement request has beenreceived. If not, then the process continues to listen 234. Otherwise, aresponse to the announcement request is sent 238, and a check 240 madeto determine if mesh assistance is enabled. If mesh assistance is notenabled, then mmW node discovery is activated 244, before returning to232 to listen for announcement request frames. If mesh assistance isenabled, then mesh assisted coordinated mmW node discovery is activated242, followed by returning to 232 to listen for announcement requestframes.

4.6. Performing mmW Authentication on Sub-6 GHz

Once a new node discovers a neighboring node through the sub-6 GHzcommunication and decides to form a mmW link, it informs that neighborthrough the announcement frame response or request.

The new node might trigger authentication requests before switching tothe mmW band to guarantee that the potential mmW link is authenticatedbefore commencing the mmW discovery campaign, so as to avoid unnecessarybeamforming on the mmW band. The new node sends an authenticationrequest and waits for authentication response, and in at least oneembodiment, the new node acknowledges the authentication response. Ifthe authentication response and acknowledgement both succeed then thenew node and the neighboring nodes(s) start the mmW discovery campaign.

In case of mesh assistance being performed through geographicaldiscovery zones of a node, the mesh node lists all potential neighborsto the new node in the authentication response if mesh assistance wasenabled. The new node responds with a list of nodes of interest topotentially connect to. The mesh node considers only the list of nodesin the acknowledgement message for the discovery campaign.

4.7. Performing mmW Discovery and Beamforming

A new node discovers a neighbor or a mesh network through active orpassive scanning in the sub-6 GHz band. The new node can act directly tocheck the mmW band and beamform with that neighbor. The new node willstart scanning the mmW band for beacons. The new node can use Quasi-Omniantenna for scanning, or switch it's receive direction beams with aspecific periodicity that depends on the mesh node capabilities. The newnode is informed about the mesh node mmW antenna capability through thecommunications that are performed in the sub-6 GHz band. Somedirectionality information, such as the direction of the LOS or thestrongest x beams, can be relayed to the new node through the sub-6 GHzband as well to limit the beams over which the new node is scanning.Some directionality information, such as the direction of the LOS or thestrongest x beams, can be used by the mesh nodes to limit the directionsover which it sends beacons to the new node.

The discovered mesh node is informed by the new node through theannouncement response or the announcement request about the intention ofthe new node to join the network. If the new node mesh profile matchesthe network profile, the mesh node approves new node network joining inthe acknowledgement message sent after the announcement response fromthe new node in case of passive scanning or through the announcementrequest response sent to the new node in case of active scanning.

The new node communicates its capability to the mesh node and provideslocalization information if it is available. The mesh node can use thisinformation to optimize the directionality or power of the mmWbeamforming. Mesh nodes can switch to discovery mode on the mmW band toallow nodes to beamform their antennas in the mmW band.

FIG. 21 illustrates an example embodiment 250 of a master beacon nodesuperframe format shown making beacon transmissions, which can becompared with the DMG peer beacons depicted in FIG. 18. The mesh nodereturns to transmitting only beacons to peer nodes after a few beaconintervals or after discovering the new node. In the figure, thetransmission includes peer beacons 252 shown exemplified for two peersas a beacon 256 to peer 1 and a beacon 258 to peer 2, with beacons 254sent in all directions, followed by an association-beamforming training(ABFT) period 260. The ABFT slots are associated with the peer nodes andequal to the number of peer nodes. After the ABFT period, the datatransfer interval (DTI) 262 commences.

FIG. 22 illustrates an example embodiment 270 of discovery throughscheduled beacon transmission and SSW frame exchange. In the figure itis seen that the mesh node can also schedule a beamforming session inthe DTI period to beam form with the new node. Beacons 272 are seentransmitted 274 to peer 1 and transmitted 276 to peer 2, followed by anassociation-beamforming training (ABFT) period 277, followed by a datatransfer interval (DTI) period 278. Then is a scheduled beacontransmission and SSW frames period 280, with beacons transmitted 279toward the new node and ABFT 218 to first slot, these are then followedby another DTI 282. In the figure, the mesh node continues transmittingbeacons to its peers only in the beacon transmission period andaccidentally transmits beacons in all direction upon finding a new nodethrough the sub-6 GHz scanning by scheduling that in the DTI period.

In the scheduled period, the SSW frame exchange can be dedicated to newnode discovery only, hence no need to have many SSW slots like the ABFTperiod defined in the IEEE 802.11 standard. Once the new node isdiscovered and connected to the network, the mesh node startstransmitting regular peer beacons to the new node with each beacontransmission interval.

FIG. 23A and FIG. 23B illustrate an example embodiment 290 of signalingfor out of band node discovery. In the figure the thick arrows representsignals sent over sub-6 GHz and thin arrows represent directionalsignals sent over the mmW band. The figure depicts communicationsbetween new node 292, node 294 neighbor 1, node 296 neighbor 2, node 298neighbor 3, and node 300 neighbor 4. Announcement frames are transmittedover the sub-6 GHz band from 302 neighbor 4 300, and from 304 neighbor 2296 to new node 292. The new node in this example received theannouncement beacon from 296 neighbor 2 and responds to that by sendinga mmW announcement frame response 306 over the sub-6 Ghz band. Neighbornode 296 responds to this by sending a mmw announcement frameacknowledgement (ACK) 308 over the sub-6 Ghz band. An authenticationrequest 310, response 312 and acknowledgement 314 is exchanged over thesub-6 Ghz band to authenticate the node access to the mmW network. Oncethe new node is authenticated, neighbor 2 296 starts transmittingdiscovery beacons 316 as mmW transmissions in all or some directionsdepending on the information available from the sub-6 GHz communication.Once new node 292 receives one of these beacons, it responds with abeacon response or link setup acknowledgement 318.

The same process continues with other neighbors 298, 294 in the network.Node 298 neighbor 3 sends announcement frame 320 over the sub-6 GHzband, to which new node 292 responds 322, and then node 298 neighbor 3ACKs 324. Authentication is shown with a request 326 from new node 292,a response 328, which is ACKed 330 by new node 292. In response to this,node 298 neighbor 3 starts transmitting discovery beacons 332 in all orsome directions depending on the information available from the sub-6GHz communication.

In FIG. 23B is seen a similar process between node 294 neighbor 1sending announcement frame 334 over the sub-6 GHz band, to which newnode responds 336 over the sub-6 GHz band, which node 294 neighbor 1ACKs 344 also over the sub-6 GHz band. In response to this, node 294neighbor 1 transmits discovery beacons 346 in all or some directionsdepending on the information available from the sub-6 GHz communication.In response to these discovery beacons, new node 292 sends a beaconresponse/link setup request 348.

It is then seen that regular directional mmW peer beacons 350 arereceived as beacon 352 from node 294 neighbor 1, and beacon 354 fromnode 298 neighbor 3.

It should be noted that the interchange between node 298 neighbor 3 andnew node 292 differs from that of the other neighbors. It particular, inthe example depicted, new node received the announcement frame on thesub-6 GHz 320 and successfully authenticated on the sub-6 GHz, but thebeacons 332 were not received by new node 292. This is why the new nodedoes not send a beacon response or link setup frame to neighbor 298.After the discovery process is complete, the new node received peerbeacons 352, 354 from the neighbors it established connections to.

4.8. Mesh Assisted, or Coordinated, mmW Discovery

The new node discovery of a mesh node through sub-6 GHz scanning (activeor passive scanning) can trigger mesh node coordinated mmW discoverycampaign. By way of example and not limitation the mmW discoverycampaign can be performed by contacted node members, or all nodes in thevicinity of the new node.

FIG. 24A and FIG. 24B illustrates an example embodiment 450 of meshcoordinated mmW node discovery, with a list of nodes discovered by thenew node on the sub-6 GHz band. The new node listens on the sub-6 GHzband for sufficient time to discover all neighbors. The new noderesponds to each neighbor it has discovered. The nodes contacted by thenew node coordinate with each other to form a discovery campaign.

In particular, the figure depicts interactions between new node 452,node 454 neighbor 1, node 456 neighbor 2, node 458 neighbor 3, and node460 neighbor 4. A sub-6 GHz announcement frame 462 from node 460neighbor 4 does not reach the new node 452. However, a sub-6 GHzannouncement frame 464 from node 458 neighbor 3 is received by the newnode, which sends 466 a sub-6 GHz response frame, which is acknowledged468 by node 458 neighbor 3. In at least one embodiment of thedisclosure, authentication takes place and is seen here with new node452 sending an authentication request 470, to which node 458 neighbor 3sends an authentication response 472, to which new node 452 sends anauthentication response acknowledgement 474.

Node 454 neighbor 1 sends an announcement frame 476 which is received bynew node 452 which sends response 478, that is acknowledged (ACK) 480 bynode 454 neighbor 1. New node 452 sends an authentication request 482,to which node 454 neighbor 1 sends an authentication response 484, towhich new node 452 sends an authentication response acknowledgement(ACK) 486.

Similarly, Node 456 as neighbor 2 sends an announcement frame 488 whichis received by new node 452 which sends response 490, that isacknowledged 492 by node 456 as neighbor 2. New node 452 sends anauthentication request 494, to which node 456 neighbor 3 sends anauthentication response 496, to which new node 452 sends anauthentication response acknowledgement (ACK) 498. Mesh nodecoordination is performed to form a discovery campaign. The coordinationis illustrated with an abstraction showing communications 500, 502 and504 in the figure for the sake of simplicity. The coordination can beperformed through sharing information about the new node and deciding ona sequence, or order, over which nodes are reaching out to the new node.Coordination should take interference and scheduling of resources intoaccount. Once the discovery campaign is completed, then the new node canuse mmW communications with the neighbors in the mesh. Node 454 asneighbor 1 is seen sending mmW discovery beacons 506 in all directions,some of which are received at the new node 452 which sends a beaconresponse/link setup 508. Similarly, node 456 as neighbor 2 is seensending mmW discovery beacons 510 in all directions, some of which arereceived at the new node 452 which sends a beacon response/link setup512. Also in this manner, node 458 as neighbor 3 is seen sending mmWdiscovery beacons 514 in all directions, some of which are received atthe new node 452. Regular mmW peer beacons 516, with a transmission 518from node 454 neighbor 1, and 520 from node 456 neighbor 2 are seenbeing sent to new node 454 neighbor 1 in response to the new nodesending response/link setup requests to these neighbors.

FIG. 25 illustrates an example embodiment 530 of an out of band meshassisted discovery. The mesh node that is contacted coordinates with allnodes in the new node geographical discovery zone to start a discovercampaign for the new node. The mesh nodes contacted comprise allpotential neighbors of the new node based on an estimate that depends onthe discovered STA(s) (nodes in its geographical discovery zone). Thenew node listens to the sub-6 GHz band until it discovers at least oneneighbor. The new node responds to this neighbor on the sub-6 GHz bandinforming it about the interest to peer with it on the mmW band. Thegeographical discovery zone is defined as nodes that are potentialneighbors to the new node given that it can discover one or moreneighbors in the sub-6 GHz band. Based on the data collected from thesub-6 GHz scanning, the mesh coordinates a discovery campaign for thenew node. The discovery campaign can be scheduled in multiple forms.

In the figure is depicted interactions between new node 532, node 534neighbor 1, node 536 neighbor 2, node 538 neighbor 3, and node 540neighbor 4. A sub-6 GHz announcement frame 542 is sent from node 540neighbor 4 but does not reach new node 532. However, a sub-6 GHzannouncement frame 544 from node 538 neighbor 3 is received by the newnode, which sends 546 a sub-6 GHz response frame, which is acknowledged548 by node 538 neighbor 3. In at least one embodiment of thedisclosure, authentication takes place and is seen here with new node532 sending an authentication request 550, to which node 538 neighbor 3sends an authentication response 552, to which new node 532 sends anauthentication response acknowledgement 554.

Mesh node coordination 556, 558 is performed to form a discoverycampaign. This coordination can be through reaching out to all potentialneighbors of the new node and coordinating the sequence or the time overwhich each node will start transmitting its discovery beacons.Coordination should take interference and scheduling of resources intoaccount. Once the discovery campaign is completed, then the new node canuse mmW with the neighbors in the mesh. Node 532 as neighbor 1 is seensending mmW discovery beacons 560 in all directions, some of which arereceived at the new node 532 which sends a beacon response/link setup562. Similarly, node 536 as neighbor 2 is seen sending mmW discoverybeacons 564 in all directions, some of which are received at new node532, with the new node sending a beacon response/link setup 566. Also inthis manner, node 538 as neighbor 3 is seen sending mmW discoverybeacons 568 in all directions, some of which are received at the newnode 532. Regular mmW peer beacons 570, are shown comprisingtransmission 572 from node 532 neighbor 1, and transmission 574 fromnode 536 neighbor 2, seen being sent to new node.

FIG. 26A and FIG. 26B illustrates an example embodiment 670 of discoveryassistance through mmW discovery beacons. Nodes in the geographicaldiscovery zone switch to discovery mode on the mmW band to allow nodesto beamform their antennas in the mmW band. The figure depictstransmissions for MSTA A 672, MSTA B 674, and MSTA C 676. In MSTA A forexample are seen ABFT period 680, then DTI period 682, and it can beseen that beacons are sent 684 in all directions with additional ABFT680 and DTI 682 periods. The transmission diagram is marked showing theassisted discovery period 678, which leads to the new node forming 686 aconnection.

Thus, the figure shows switching to transmitting beacons through allantennas in the beacon transmission period. Mesh nodes will return backto transmitting only beacons to peer nodes after a few beacon intervalsor after discovering the new node. Before the mesh nodes starttransmitting beacons, the ABFT period for the mesh node comprises slotsfor each of the peer beacons transmitted. This makes the number of slotsfor SSW frames exchange equal to the number of peers. When the mesh nodeswitches to sending discovery beacons, it adds a new slot for the newnode. At the end of the discovery phase the mesh node can end up with aconnection with the new node and permanently allocates a slot for it inthe ABFT as seen with MSTA B.

FIG. 27A and FIG. 27B illustrates an example embodiment 710 of nodes inthe geographical discovery zone coordinating the transmission ofdiscovery beacons on the mmW band to allow nodes to beamform theirantennas in the mmW band. In the figure transmissions are scheduledthrough all antenna sectors in the DTI period. The mesh node repeats thetransmission of the beacons for many cycles depending of thecapabilities of the new node as discovered by the sub-6 GHz.

The figure depicts transmissions for MSTA A 712, MSTA B 714, and MSTA C716. In MSTA A for example are seen ABFT period 718, then DTI period720, with assisted discovery period 717 being entered followed by SSWframe exchange 724 with periods of beacons sent in all directions 722,after which is a possible link setup slot 725. Transmissions by MSTA A712 are seen continuing with beacons 726 sent in peer directions only,ABFT period 728 and DTI period 730. The figure also shows in MSTA B withthe new node forming 732 a connection in response to assisted discoveryperiod 717.

Thus, as seen in the figure, at the end of each beacon transmissioncycle, transmitting beacons from all antenna sectors, a slot is assignedfor SSW frame exchanges. In at least one embodiment, a period of time isalso reserved for peer link establishment at the end of the transmissionof all beacon cycles and SSW slots. At the time of beacon transmissionin the regular frame, if the new node is connected to the mesh node apeer beacon and an assigned SSW slot is added and dedicated to the newnode as seen with MSTA B.

4.9. Geographical Discovery Zone

A geographical cluster of nodes are created for each MSTA or MSTAsector. For each node sector, the area where this sector is coveringrepresents the foot print of this sector. A set of possible neighboringnodes or node sectors that can be discovered in the foot print of thissector comprise the geographical discovery node/sector set. This setcontains nodes or sectors that might be seen by any new node discoveredby or in this sector. Not all the members of this set would typically bediscovered by the new node but it represents all possible potentialneighbors. This set should be updated any time a new node is joining thenetwork to include new MSTAs joining. This set can be constructed eitherusing measurement campaign collection, topology information of thenetwork or some form of antenna pattern analysis.

FIG. 28 illustrates an example embodiment 790 of a node or sectorgeographical discovery set (sector coverage area). The figure depictsnode MSTA A 792 with sectors 798 a through 798 d, MSTA B 794 withsectors 800 a through 800 d, and MSTA C 796 with sectors 802 a through802 d, depicting their overlapping antenna direction sectors. It can beseen from the figure that any node discovered by MSTA A 792, Sector 3(S3) 798 c can have MSTA C 796 (S1) 802 a and (S2) 802 b, and/or MSTA B794 (S4) 800 d as neighbors as well. Any node discovered by MSTA B 794(S1) 800 a, will only have MSTA A 792 (S2) 798 b as a potentialneighbor. The formation of the geographical discovery zones can beperformed by the system through measurement reporting in the network orby utilizing an analytical cell planning process.

The analytical cell planning is based on estimating at each coveragearea of a node's sector what the potential neighbors are and load thelist at the node sector. To generate this list through measurementreporting, a centralized or distributed procedure can be utilized. Eachnode and/or sector maintains a list of neighboring nodes/sectors thatcan be discovered by this node/sector. In at least one embodiment, theselists are processed collectively to form relationships between them. Theoutcome is to estimate for each sector what the potential neighbors areif that sector is discovered.

The more nodes in the network the more accurate the estimate of thediscovery zones will be. Also as nodes are moving and discovering newnodes, an update should be sent with a new set of nodes/sectors that canbe discovered. The mobile node are discovering and losing sight withother nodes and forming new lists of neighbors that can be seensimultaneously. These lists are saved and periodically processed.

In the centralized procedure, nodes are sending the neighboring list foreach sector to a central entity. The central entity collects all listsfrom all network nodes and forms the geographical discovery zone. Thecentral entity sends geographical discovery zone set to each node afterprocessing the collected lists. The nodes can send a report of all listscollected over a period of time periodically or momentarily once theneighboring list changes to update the network information.

In the distributed procedure, nodes are sending each of these lists toall members of these lists. In this case the list should be sent themoment the list is updated to all members of the list before the nodeloses sight of any of the list members. Once a node receives a list fromanother node, it adds all the members of the list to the discovery zoneof the sector that it was received from.

FIG. 29 illustrates an example embodiment 810 as a variation of the caseshown in FIG. 28, depicting the case of a node moving and forming newlists. These lists are used to update the geographical discovery zoneset for these neighbors as shown in the table. The figure depicts nodeMSTA A 792 with sectors 798 a through 798 d, MSTA B 794 with sectors 800a through 800 d, and MSTA C 796 with sectors 802 a through 802 d,depicting their overlapping antenna direction sectors. A mobile node isshown moving through the antenna sectors associated with the three fixednodes, with mobile nodes intermediate locations seen as 812 a through812 f, as new lists are created when the neighbor associations changefrom MSTA A 792 (S4) as sole neighbor at L₁ 812 a, to neighbors MSTA A792 (S4) and MSTA C 796 (S1) at L₂ 812 b, to MSTA C 796 (S1) as soleneighbor at L₃ 812 c, to MSTA A 792 (S3) and MSTA C 796 (S1) at L₄ 812d, to MSTA A 792 (S3), MSTA C 796 (S1), and MSTA B 794 (S4) at L₅ 812 e,and finally to MSTA A 792 (S3) and MSTA B 794 (S4) at L₆ 812 f.

Thus, the figure shows an example of a node moving and forming newlists, utilized to update the geographical discovery zone set for theseneighbors. Table 1 details the neighbor list and discovery zone updatesfor the example of FIG. 29 for each of the moving node positions L₁through L₆.

4.10. New Frame Format 4.10.1. mmW Network Announcement

This frame is sent on the sub-6 GHz band on a periodic basis from meshSTAs to announce the mmW communication capability of a node. Also thisframe is used to announce the capability of the mmW RF and baseband andto include selected information to the new node to aid it in beamformingwith the STA, such as reducing overhead and/or expediting thebeamforming process.

In at least one embodiment, the network announcement frame comprises thefollowing information: (a) SSID/SSID list—List of mmW SSID(s) the newSTA trying to connect to; (b) DMG Capabilities—MSTA supportedcapabilities; (c) Mesh ID—Mesh ID element; and (d) Mesh Assistance—Trueif the mesh discovery assistance is optional.

4.10.2. mmW Network Announcement Response

This frame is sent on the sub-6 GHz band from a new node as a responseto receiving a network announcement frame. This frame informs the meshSTA of the existence of a new node that is trying to connect to the mmWnetwork. The response preferably communicates the capabilities of themmW RF and baseband of the new node as well as any information whichmakes it easier for the new node to beamform with the STA, for examplereducing the overhead of beamforming and/or expediting the process ofbeamforming.

In at least one embodiment, the network announcement response framecomprises the following information: (a) NSID—new STA identifier; (b)SSID—list of mmW SSID that the new STA is trying to connect to; (c) DMGCapabilities—new STA supported capabilities; (d) Mesh ID—mesh IDelement; (e) Mesh Assistance—true if the mesh discovery assistance isrequested.

4.10.3. mmW Network Announcement Acknowledgement

This frame is sent on the sub-6 GHz band from a mesh STA to a new nodeas an acknowledgment for receiving a network announcement response andto authorize a node to connect to the mmW network. This frame is used toinform the new STA of information regarding the discovery campaignscheduled on the mmW band.

In at least one embodiment, the network announcement acknowledgementframe comprises the following information: (a) NSID—an identifier forthe New STA to be assisted; (b) SSID/SSID list—list of mmW SSID(s) thenew STA trying to connect to; (c) Mesh Assistance—true if the meshdiscovery assistance is enabled; (d) Channel—the channel where MSTA aretransmitting discovery beacon; (e) Synchronization information—the timefor new STA to expect mmW beacons; and (f) Localizationinformation—information to aid new node in directing its beamforming inthe STA direction.

4.10.4. mmW Network Joining Request

This frame is sent on the sub-6 GHz band from a new node to mesh STAs toannounce its existence and to request mmW link establishment withneighboring nodes. Also this frame is used to announce the capability ofthe mmW RF and baseband and some information that makes it easier forthe new node to beamform with the STA, such as mentioned previously inregards to lowering overhead, and/or expediting the beamforming process.

In at least one embodiment the network joining request frame comprisesthe following information: (a) NSID—identifier of new STA to beassisted; (b) DMG Capabilities—MSTA supported capabilities; (c) MeshID—Mesh ID element; and (d) Mesh Assistance—true if mesh discoveryassistance is optional.

4.10.5. mmW Network Joining Response

This frame is sent on the sub-6 GHz band from a mesh STA to a new nodeas a response to a network joining request from a new STA. This frame istransmitted to inform the new STA of information regarding the discoverycampaign scheduled on the mmW band.

In at least one embodiment the network joining response frame comprisesthe following information: (a) NSID—identifier for the new STA to beassisted; (b) SSID/SSID list—list of mmW SSID(s) the new STA trying toconnect to; (c) Mesh Assistance—true if the mesh discovery assistance isenabled; (d) Channel—the Channel where MSTA are transmitting discoverybeacon; (e) Synchronization information—the time for new STA to expectmmW beacons; and (f) Localization information—information to help thenew node direct its beamforming in the STA direction.

4.10.6. mmW Authentication Request

This frame is sent on the sub-6 GHz band from a new node to mesh STAs torequest authentication on the mmW network. This authorization operatesto avoid any additional activity (e.g., new node assistance) on the mmWband if the new node is not authorized to access the mmW network.

In at least one embodiment the authentication request frame comprisesthe following information: (a) NSID—identifier for the new STA to beassisted; and (b) Authentication information—authentication informationrequest.

4.10.7. mmW Authentication Response

This frame is sent on the sub-6 GHz band from one or more mesh STAs to anew node as a response to the mmW network authentication request. Ifmesh assistance is allowed, the mesh node will add other nodes in thegeographical discovery zone of the new node to check if the new node isinterested in discovering them on the mmW band.

In at least one embodiment, the authentication response frame comprisesthe following information: (a) NSID—identifier of the new STA to beassisted; (b) Authentication response—true or false; and (c) Meshassistance list—list of nodes in the geographical discovery zone.

4.10.8. mmW Authentication Response ACK

This frame is sent on the sub-6 GHz band from a new node to mesh STAs toacknowledge the reception of the mmW network authentication response,toward avoiding any activity on the mmW band (e.g., new node assistance)if the new node is not authorized to access the mmW network. If meshassistance is allowed, the new node preferably responds with a list ofnodes it is interested to discover in the mmW network if the list wassent in the authentication response frame.

In at least one embodiment the authentication response ACK framecomprises the following information: (a) NSID—identifier of the new STAto be assisted; and (b) Mesh assistance list response—list of nodes inthe geographical discovery zone that the new node is interested todiscover on the mmW band.

4.10.9. Discovery Beacon

This is a frame that is similar to the regular 802.11 DMG beaconsframes, but has some elements to support additional features. Theseframes are preferably transmitted in the mmW band by the MSTA in alldirections to help in discovery and announcing the network. The framecontains specific details to allow new nodes to discover the network,and is different than the peer beacons which are intended to synchronizeand manage mesh peers and connected STAs. Many element of the 802.11 DMGbeacon can be removed or considered optional if it is not needed by thenew node discovery. Once the node is connected to the mesh network itcan receive all omitted information through peer beacons. This is a verylight beacon and has the basic information for a node to discover themesh node, form a connection and start receiving peer beacons.

The frame of an assistance response message also indicates the BeaconType as being either a Discovery or peer beacon.

4.10.10. Peer Beacon

This is a frame that is similar to the regular 802.11 DMG beacons framesbut has some elements to support additional features. These frames aretransmitted by all nodes in the mmW band to their peer STAs in theirdirections or around their directions only. This peer beacon is used forbeacon functions like synchronization, spectrum and channel management.The information communicated is intended for nodes in the network tomanage the network and maintain synchronization in the network. Manyelements of the 802.11 DMG beacon can be removed or considered optionalif it is not required by the current mesh STA, and is just intended fornew nodes discovery and mesh formation.

The frame of a peer beacon should at least contain information on BeaconType, including whether it is a discovery beacon or peer beacon.

5. Summary

Wireless communication system/apparatus/method with directionaltransmission over mmW band which is also configured for transmission andreception on at least one sub-6 GHz band to aid scanning for mmW meshnetwork discovery. The programming of each node is configured totransmit reduced power mmW network announcement frames on the sub-6 GHzband to announce the existence of the mmW network and the capability ofthe mmW communication apparatus. The programming of each node isconfigured to receive reduced power mmW network joining request frameson the sub-6 GHz band which announce the existence of a node in the mmWband, its capabilities, and its request to the receiving mmW stationsfor assistance to find neighbors and join the network.

In addition to the above, in at least one embodiment, thesystem/apparatus/method is configured to utilize directionaltransmission for transmitting beacons to maintain existing links amongits neighboring peer stations. These beacons are transmittedperiodically and solely to neighboring peer STAs to maintainsynchronization and manage resources. These mmW beacons are nottransmitted in all directions all the time.

In addition to the above in at least one embodiment, a new station (STA)in search of network neighbors is configured for receiving a reducedpower mmW network announcement frame on the sub-6 GHz band from anetwork station, to which the new station responds by sending a sub-6GHz message to inform the network station (STA) of its existence. Afterwhich the new station switches to communicating on the mmW band todiscover neighbor(s).

In addition to the above in at least one embodiment, a station receivinga reduced power mmW network joining request frame on the sub-6 GHz bandfrom a new station is configured to respond to the new station andcommunicate information about the mmW network. The new station isconfigured to switch to the mmW band to discover neighbor(s).

In addition to the above in at least one embodiment, stations in the mmWnetwork that communicated with the new node through the sub-6 GHz bandassist the new station by transmitting mmW beacons in all directions andbeamforming with the new station if it is within a coverage area of themmW network.

In addition to the above in at least one embodiment, stations in thenetwork which communicated with the new station through the sub-6 GHzband coordinate with other stations that are potential neighbors in themmW network to assist the new station by transmitting mmW beacons in alldirections and beamforming with the new station if it is within acoverage area of the mmW network.

The enhancements described in the presented technology can be readilyimplemented within various mmWave transmitters, receivers andtransceivers. It should also be appreciated that modern transmitters,receivers and transceivers are preferably implemented to include one ormore computer processor devices (e.g., CPU, microprocessor,microcontroller, computer enabled ASIC, etc.) and associated memorystoring instructions (e.g., RAM, DRAM, NVRAM, FLASH, computer readablemedia, etc.) whereby programming (instructions) stored in the memory areexecuted on the processor to perform the steps of the various processmethods described herein.

The computer and memory devices were not depicted in the diagrams forthe sake of simplicity of illustration, as one of ordinary skill in theart recognizes the use of computer devices for carrying out stepsinvolved with various modern communication devices. The presentedtechnology is non-limiting with regard to memory and computer-readablemedia, insofar as these are non-transitory, and thus not constituting atransitory electronic signal.

It will also be appreciated that the computer readable media (memorystoring instructions) in these computational systems is“non-transitory”, which comprises any and all forms of computer-readablemedia, with the sole exception being a transitory, propagating signal.Accordingly, the disclosed technology may comprise any form ofcomputer-readable media, including those which are random access (e.g.,RAM), require periodic refreshing (e.g., DRAM), those that degrade overtime (e.g., EEPROMS, disk media), or that store data for only shortperiods of time and/or only in the presence of power, with the onlylimitation being that the term “computer readable media” is notapplicable to an electronic signal which is transitory.

Embodiments of the present technology may be described herein withreference to flowchart illustrations of methods and systems according toembodiments of the technology, and/or procedures, algorithms, steps,operations, formulae, or other computational depictions, which may alsobe implemented as computer program products. In this regard, each blockor step of a flowchart, and combinations of blocks (and/or steps) in aflowchart, as well as any procedure, algorithm, step, operation,formula, or computational depiction can be implemented by various means,such as hardware, firmware, and/or software including one or morecomputer program instructions embodied in computer-readable programcode. As will be appreciated, any such computer program instructions maybe executed by one or more computer processors, including withoutlimitation a general purpose computer or special purpose computer, orother programmable processing apparatus to produce a machine, such thatthe computer program instructions which execute on the computerprocessor(s) or other programmable processing apparatus create means forimplementing the function(s) specified.

Accordingly, blocks of the flowcharts, and procedures, algorithms,steps, operations, formulae, or computational depictions describedherein support combinations of means for performing the specifiedfunction(s), combinations of steps for performing the specifiedfunction(s), and computer program instructions, such as embodied incomputer-readable program code logic means, for performing the specifiedfunction(s). It will also be understood that each block of the flowchartillustrations, as well as any procedures, algorithms, steps, operations,formulae, or computational depictions and combinations thereof describedherein, can be implemented by special purpose hardware-based computersystems which perform the specified function(s) or step(s), orcombinations of special purpose hardware and computer-readable programcode.

Furthermore, these computer program instructions, such as embodied incomputer-readable program code, may also be stored in one or morecomputer-readable memory or memory devices that can direct a computerprocessor or other programmable processing apparatus to function in aparticular manner, such that the instructions stored in thecomputer-readable memory or memory devices produce an article ofmanufacture including instruction means which implement the functionspecified in the block(s) of the flowchart(s). The computer programinstructions may also be executed by a computer processor or otherprogrammable processing apparatus to cause a series of operational stepsto be performed on the computer processor or other programmableprocessing apparatus to produce a computer-implemented process such thatthe instructions which execute on the computer processor or otherprogrammable processing apparatus provide steps for implementing thefunctions specified in the block(s) of the flowchart(s), procedure (s)algorithm(s), step(s), operation(s), formula(e), or computationaldepiction(s).

It will further be appreciated that the terms “programming” or “programexecutable” as used herein refer to one or more instructions that can beexecuted by one or more computer processors to perform one or morefunctions as described herein. The instructions can be embodied insoftware, in firmware, or in a combination of software and firmware. Theinstructions can be stored local to the device in non-transitory media,or can be stored remotely such as on a server, or all or a portion ofthe instructions can be stored locally and remotely. Instructions storedremotely can be downloaded (pushed) to the device by user initiation, orautomatically based on one or more factors.

It will further be appreciated that as used herein, that the termsprocessor, hardware processor, computer processor, central processingunit (CPU), and computer are used synonymously to denote a devicecapable of executing the instructions and communicating withinput/output interfaces and/or peripheral devices, and that the termsprocessor, hardware processor, computer processor, CPU, and computer areintended to encompass single or multiple devices, single core andmulticore devices, and variations thereof.

From the description herein, it will be appreciated that the presentdisclosure encompasses multiple embodiments which include, but are notlimited to, the following:

1. An apparatus for wireless communication in a mesh network,comprising: (a) a wireless communication circuit configured forwirelessly communicating with other wireless communication stationsutilizing both: (A) directional millimeter-wave (mmW) communicationhaving a plurality of antenna pattern sectors each having differenttransmission directions, and (B) sub-6 GHz wireless communication; (b) aprocessor coupled to said wireless communication circuit within astation configured for operating on the mesh network; (c) anon-transitory memory storing instructions executable by the processor;and (d) wherein said instructions, when executed by the processor,perform steps comprising: (d)(i) operating said station as a peerstation on said mesh network for maintaining communications withneighboring peer stations on the mesh network; (d)(ii) transmitting afirst type of beacon, a peer beacon, using said directionalmillimeter-wave communication having a plurality of antenna patternsectors comprising time synchronization and resource managementinformation, to maintain existing links among one or more neighboringpeer stations within the mesh network; (d)(iii) transmitting, from thepeer station, a second type of beacon, as a network discovery beacon,over said sub-6 GHz wireless communication, in which said networkdiscovery beacon contains mesh network profile information whichidentifies the mesh network, to aid network discovery for a new stationto join the mesh network; and (d)(iv) receiving joining request framesfor said mesh network over said sub-6 GHz wireless communication, saidjoining request announces the new station along with capabilities of thenew station and a request from the new station to any receiving stationsof the mesh network requesting assistance in finding neighbors andjoining the mesh network.

2. An apparatus for wireless communication in a mesh network,comprising: (a) a wireless communication circuit configured forwirelessly communicating with other wireless communication stationsutilizing both: (A) directional millimeter-wave (mmW) communicationhaving a plurality of antenna pattern sectors each having differenttransmission directions, and (B) sub-6 GHz wireless communication; (b) aprocessor coupled to said wireless communication circuit within astation configured for operating on the mesh network; (c) anon-transitory memory storing instructions executable by the processor;and (d) wherein said instructions, when executed by the processor,perform steps comprising: (d)(i) operating said station as a peerstation on said mesh network for maintaining communications withneighboring peer stations on the mesh network; (d)(ii) transmitting afirst type of beacon, a peer beacon, using said directionalmillimeter-wave communication having a plurality of antenna patternsectors comprising time synchronization and resource managementinformation, to maintain existing links among one or more neighboringpeer stations within the mesh network; (d)(iii) transmitting, from thepeer station, a second type of beacon, as a network discovery beacon,over said sub-6 GHz wireless communication, in which said networkdiscovery beacon contains mesh network profile information whichidentifies the mesh network, to aid network discovery for a new stationto join the mesh network; (d)(iv) receiving joining request frames forsaid mesh network over said sub-6 GHz wireless communication, saidjoining request announces the new station along with capabilities of thenew station and a request from the new station to any receiving stationsof the mesh network requesting assistance in finding neighbors andjoining the mesh network; (d)(v) operating said station as the newstation if said station has not yet joined the mesh network, wherein thenew station is configured for receiving a network announcement frameover said sub-6 GHz wireless communication from a sending stationconnected as a peer station on the mesh network, and responding bytransmitting a response message over said sub-6 GHz wirelesscommunication to inform the sending station of its existence; and (d)(vi) switching the new station to using directional millimeter-wave(mmW) communication for discovering one or more neighbors on the meshnetwork.

3. A method for performing wireless communication in a mesh network,comprising: (a) generating wireless communications, controlled by aprocessor of a station, as both directional millimeter-wave (mmW)communication having a plurality of antenna pattern sectors each havingdifferent transmission directions, and using sub-6 GHz wirelesscommunication; (b) operating the station on said mesh network as a peerstation for maintaining communications with neighboring peer stations onthe mesh network; (c) transmitting a first type of beacon, a peerbeacon, using said directional millimeter-wave communication having aplurality of antenna pattern sectors comprising time synchronization andresource management information, to maintain existing links among one ormore neighboring peer stations within the mesh network; (d)transmitting, from the peer station, a second type of beacon, as anetwork discovery beacon, over said sub-6 GHz wireless communication, inwhich said network discovery beacon contains mesh network profileinformation which identifies the mesh network, to aid network discoveryfor a new station to join the mesh network; and (e) receiving joiningrequest frames for said mesh network over said sub-6 GHz wirelesscommunication, said joining request announces the new station along withcapabilities of the new station and a request from the new station toany receiving stations of the mesh network requesting assistance infinding neighbors and joining the mesh network.

4. The apparatus or method of any preceding embodiment, wherein saidinstructions when executed by the processor further perform stepscomprising operating said station as the new station if said station hasnot yet joined the mesh network, wherein the new station is configuredfor receiving a network announcement frame over said sub-6 GHz wirelesscommunication from a sending station connected as a peer station on themesh network, and responding by transmitting a response message oversaid sub-6 GHz wireless communication to inform the sending station ofits existence.

5. The apparatus or method of any preceding embodiment, wherein saidinstructions when executed by the processor further perform stepscomprising switching the new station for directional millimeter-wave(mmW) communication for discovering one or more neighbors on the meshnetwork.

6. The apparatus or method of any preceding embodiment, wherein saidinstructions when executed by the processor further perform stepscomprising operating said station as a peer station and communicatingwith the new station over said sub-6 GHz wireless communication toassist the new station by transmitting millimeter-wave beacons in alldirections and beamforming with the new station if it is within acoverage area of the mesh network.

7. The apparatus or method of any preceding embodiment, wherein saidinstructions when executed by the processor further perform stepscomprising operating said station as a peer station and coordinatingwith peer stations, that are potential neighbors of the new station inthe mesh network, in assisting the new station by transmittingmillimeter-wave beacons in all directions and beamforming with the newstation if it is within a coverage area of the mesh network.

8. The apparatus or method of any preceding embodiment, wherein saidinstructions when executed by the processor further perform stepscomprising performing authentication in which a new node sends anauthentication request for the mesh network over said sub-6 GHz wirelesscommunication, and if authentication is successful, the new nodeswitches to the directional millimeter-wave (mmW) communication forbeamforming.

9. The apparatus or method of any preceding embodiment, wherein saidinstructions when executed by the processor further perform stepscomprising peer stations on the mesh network configured for respondingto said authentication request from the new node by sending a responseto the new node.

10. The apparatus or method of any preceding embodiment, wherein saidinstructions when executed by the processor further perform stepscomprising peer stations on the mesh network configured for sending saidresponse to the new node which includes additional information for useby the new node.

11. The apparatus or method of any preceding embodiment, wherein saidinstructions when executed by the processor further perform stepscomprising peer stations on the mesh network configured for sending saidresponse to the new node in which said additional information comprisesa list of other neighboring nodes on the mesh network.

12. The apparatus or method of any preceding embodiment, wherein saidinstructions when executed by the processor further perform stepscomprising operating said station as a peer station and communicatingwith the new station over said sub-6 GHz wireless communication toassist the new station by transmitting millimeter-wave beacons in alldirections and beamforming with the new station if it is within acoverage area of the mesh network.

13. The apparatus or method of any preceding embodiment, wherein saidinstructions when executed by the processor further perform stepscomprising operating said station as a peer station and coordinatingwith peer stations, that are potential neighbors of the new station inthe mesh network, in assisting the new station by transmittingmillimeter-wave beacons in all directions and beamforming with the newstation if it is within a coverage area of the mesh network.

14. The apparatus or method of any preceding embodiment, wherein saidinstructions when executed by the processor further perform stepscomprising performing authentication in which a new node sends anauthentication request for the mesh network over said sub-6 GHz wirelesscommunication, and if authentication is successful, the new nodeswitches to the directional millimeter-wave (mmW) communication forbeamforming.

15. The apparatus or method of any preceding embodiment, wherein saidinstructions when executed by the processor further perform stepscomprising peer stations on the mesh network configured for respondingto said authentication request from the new node by sending a responseto the new node.

16. The apparatus or method of any preceding embodiment, wherein saidinstructions when executed by the processor further perform stepscomprising peer stations on the mesh network configured for sending saidresponse to the new node which includes additional information for useby the new node.

17. The apparatus or method of any preceding embodiment, wherein saidinstructions when executed by the processor further perform stepscomprising peer stations on the mesh network configured for sending saidresponse to the new node in which said additional information comprisesa list of other neighboring nodes on the mesh network.

18. The apparatus or method of any preceding embodiment, furthercomprising operating said station as the new station if said station hasnot yet joined the mesh network, wherein the new station is configuredfor receiving a network announcement frame over said sub-6 GHz wirelesscommunication from a sending station connected as a peer station on themesh network, and responding by transmitting a response message oversaid sub-6 GHz wireless communication to inform the sending station ofits existence.

19. The apparatus or method of any preceding embodiment, wherein saidinstructions when executed by the processor further perform stepscomprising switching the new station for directional millimeter-wave(mmW) communication for discovering one or more neighbors on the meshnetwork.

20. The apparatus or method of any preceding embodiment, wherein the newnode sends an authentication request for the mesh network over saidsub-6 GHz wireless communication, and if authentication is successful,the new node switches to the directional millimeter-wave (mmW)communication for beamforming.

As used herein, the singular terms “a,” “an,” and “the” may includeplural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.Reference to an object in the singular is not intended to mean “one andonly one” unless explicitly so stated, but rather “one or more.”

As used herein, the term “set” refers to a collection of one or moreobjects. Thus, for example, a set of objects can include a single objector multiple objects.

As used herein, the terms “substantially” and “about” are used todescribe and account for small variations. When used in conjunction withan event or circumstance, the terms can refer to instances in which theevent or circumstance occurs precisely as well as instances in which theevent or circumstance occurs to a close approximation. When used inconjunction with a numerical value, the terms can refer to a range ofvariation of less than or equal to ±10% of that numerical value, such asless than or equal to ±5%, less than or equal to ±4%, less than or equalto ±3%, less than or equal to ±2%, less than or equal to ±1%, less thanor equal to ±0.5%, less than or equal to ±0.1%, or less than or equal to±0.05%. For example, “substantially” aligned can refer to a range ofangular variation of less than or equal to ±10°, such as less than orequal to ±5°, less than or equal to ±4°, less than or equal to ±3°, lessthan or equal to ±2°, less than or equal to ±1°, less than or equal to±0.5°, less than or equal to ±0.1°, or less than or equal to ±0.05°.

Additionally, amounts, ratios, and other numerical values may sometimesbe presented herein in a range format. It is to be understood that suchrange format is used for convenience and brevity and should beunderstood flexibly to include numerical values explicitly specified aslimits of a range, but also to include all individual numerical valuesor sub-ranges encompassed within that range as if each numerical valueand sub-range is explicitly specified. For example, a ratio in the rangeof about 1 to about 200 should be understood to include the explicitlyrecited limits of about 1 and about 200, but also to include individualratios such as about 2, about 3, and about 4, and sub-ranges such asabout 10 to about 50, about 20 to about 100, and so forth.

Although the description herein contains many details, these should notbe construed as limiting the scope of the disclosure but as merelyproviding illustrations of some of the presently preferred embodiments.Therefore, it will be appreciated that the scope of the disclosure fullyencompasses other embodiments which may become obvious to those skilledin the art.

All structural and functional equivalents to the elements of thedisclosed embodiments that are known to those of ordinary skill in theart are expressly incorporated herein by reference and are intended tobe encompassed by the present claims. Furthermore, no element,component, or method step in the present disclosure is intended to bededicated to the public regardless of whether the element, component, ormethod step is explicitly recited in the claims. No claim element hereinis to be construed as a “means plus function” element unless the elementis expressly recited using the phrase “means for”. No claim elementherein is to be construed as a “step plus function” element unless theelement is expressly recited using the phrase “step for”.

TABLE 1 Discovery Zone Formation Exemplified in FIG. 33 List L₁ L₂ L₃ L₄L₅ L₆ Neighbor list A-S4 A-S4, C-S1 C-S1 C-S1, A-S3 C-S1, B-S4, A-S3B-S4, A-S3 Discovery A-S4 = { } A-S4 = {C-S1} A-S4 = {C-S1} A-S4 ={C-S1} A-S4 = {C-S1} A-S4 = {C-S1} zone update A-S3 = { } A-S3 = { }A-S3 = { } A-S3 = {C-S1} A-S3 = {C-S1, B-S4} A-S3 = {C- C-S1 = { } C-S1= {A-S4} C-S1 = {A-S4} C-S1 = {A-S4, C-S1 = {A-S4, A- S1, B-S4} B-S4 = {} B-S4 = { } B-S4 = { } A-S3} S3, B-S4} C-S1 = {A-S4, B-S4 = { } B-S4 ={C-S1, A-S3} A-S3, B-S4} B-S4 = {C- S1, A-S3}

1. (canceled)
 2. An apparatus for wireless communication in a network,comprising: (a) a wireless communication circuit, as a station,operating under IEEE 802.11 and configured for wirelessly communicatingwith other wireless communication stations utilizing both: (A)directional millimeter-wave (mmW) communication in a mmW band having aplurality of antenna pattern sectors each having different transmissiondirections, and (B) lower band wireless communication in a lower band;(b) a processor coupled to said wireless communication circuit withinsaid station configured for operating on the network; (c) anon-transitory memory storing instructions executable by the processor;and (d) wherein said instructions, when executed by the processor,perform steps comprising: (i) operating said station on said network formaintaining communications with neighboring stations on said network;(ii) transmitting beacons using said directional millimeter-wave (mmW)communication on a subset of said plurality of antenna pattern sectorsfor receipt by stations that are in communication with said stationsending said beacons or are nearby, said beacons comprising: (A) sendinga first type of beacon to neighboring stations on the network formanaging spectrum and synchronization of the channel; (B) sending asecond type of beacon as discovery beacons transmitted in all directionsto help in discovery and announcing said network; (C) wherein both typesof beacons contain a field indicating which type of beacon is beingsent; (iii) limiting network access to those new stations which can beaccessed with a direct mmW link by: (A) sending discovery beacons with apower level which is lowered to reflect the mmW link budget; or (B)establishing a threshold within said station operating as a receivingstation, in which said threshold determines whether to respond to thisframe, or not to response if it will be outside the mmW mesh nodecoverage area; (iv) aiding network discovery, by supporting passiveand/or active scanning in the process of allowing a new station to joinsaid network; (v) transmitting a network announcement acknowledgement onthe lower band from said station on said network, to said new station,as an acknowledgment for receiving a network announcement response,wherein said network announcement acknowledgement authorizes said newstation to connect to said network using millimeter-wave (mmW)communications, and to inform said new station of information regardinga discovery campaign scheduled on the mmW band; (vi) wherein saidstation in response to lower band communications from said new stationto join said network, switches to the mmW band and performs beamformingbetween said new station and other stations already joined on saidnetwork; and (vii) transmitting updates with information on new sets ofstations and sectors that can be discovered as stations are moving anddiscovering new stations, since certain stations are discovering and/orlosing sight with other stations and forming new lists of neighbors. 3.The apparatus of claim 2, wherein said instructions when executed by theprocessor further perform steps comprising operating said wirelesscommunication circuit as said new station: (a) requesting networkdiscovery, by passive and/or active scanning, for said new station tojoin the network, wherein said new station: (i) performs passivescanning as it receives an announcement frame about the existence ofsaid network using directional mmW communications, over the lower band,and responds by sending an announcement request on the lower band tojoin said network; and/or (ii) performs active scanning by sending anannouncement request over the lower band, in which said announcementrequest from said new station requests to join said directional mmWnetwork and contains information on directional mmW capability of saidnew station; and (b) wherein said new station and one or more othernetwork stations, in response to lower band communications, switches tothe mmW band with beamforming being performed between said new stationand other stations already joined on said network, and the request tojoin said network is processed.
 4. The apparatus of claim 3, whereinsaid instructions when executed by the processor further perform stepscomprising switching said new station for directional mmW communicationfor discovering one or more other neighbor stations said network.
 5. Theapparatus of claim 2, wherein said instructions when executed by theprocessor further perform steps comprising communicating with said newstation over said lower band to assist said new station by transmittingmillimeter-wave beacons, or beamforming beacons, or beamforming sessionsin the DTI, in all directions and beamforming with said new station ifit is within a coverage area of said network.
 6. The apparatus of claim5, wherein said instructions when executed by the processor furtherperform steps comprising operating said station for coordinating withother stations that are potential neighbor stations of said new stationin said network, toward assisting said new station by transmitting mmWbeacons, or beamforming beacons, or beamforming sessions in the DTI,beacons, or beamforming sessions in the DTI, in all directions andbeamforming with said new station if it is within a coverage area ofsaid network.
 7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein during saidcoordinating with other stations a sequence or time is determined forwhich these stations will reach out to the new node.
 8. The apparatus ofclaim 2, wherein said instructions when executed by the processorfurther perform steps comprising performing authentication in which saidnew station sends an authentication request for said network over saidlower band, and if authentication is successful, said new stationswitches to the mmW band for beamforming.
 9. The apparatus of claim 8,wherein said instructions when executed by the processor further performsteps comprising responding to said authentication request from said newstation by neighboring stations which are configured for sending aresponse to said new station.
 10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein saidinstructions when executed by the processor further perform stepscomprising sending said response to said new station, wherein saidresponse includes additional information for use by said new station.11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein said instructions when executedby the processor further perform steps comprising sending said responseto said new station in which said additional information comprises alist of other neighboring stations on said network.
 12. The apparatus ofclaim 2, wherein said first type of beacon is sent to neighboringstations on the network for managing spectrum and synchronization of thechannel, by transmissions directed to the best sectors for these otherstations.
 13. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein said best sectors forthese other stations are bracketed by transmissions to sector around thedetermined best sector.
 14. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein adetermination of which stations are contacted, for said discoverycampaign scheduled on the mmW band for the new station, is based on adetermination of geographical discovery zone.
 15. The apparatus of claim14, wherein said geographical discovery zone contains other stations orsectors that might be seen by any new node discovered by or in thissector, and thus represents all possible potential neighbors.
 16. Theapparatus of claim 14, wherein said geographical discovery zone can bedetermined through measurement reporting on the network, or by utilizingan analytical cell planning process.
 17. The apparatus of claim 14,wherein said geographical discovery zone is formed in a centralizedprocedure in which other stations are sending neighbor lists to acentral entity which processes the collected neighbors lists, and sendsinformation on geographic discovery zone sets to these other stations.18. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein said geographical discovery zoneis formed in a distributed procedure in which each station is sendingits neighbor lists to all members of its list, and each station adds allmembers of neighbor lists to the geographic discovery zone of the sectorthat it was received from.
 19. An apparatus for wireless communicationin a network, comprising: (a) a wireless communication circuit, as astation, operating under IEEE 802.11 and configured for wirelesslycommunicating with other wireless communication stations utilizing both:(A) directional millimeter-wave (mmW) communication in a mmW band havinga plurality of antenna pattern sectors each having differenttransmission directions, and (B) lower band wireless communication in alower band; (b) a processor coupled to said wireless communicationcircuit within said station configured for operating on the network; (c)a non-transitory memory storing instructions executable by theprocessor; and (d) wherein said instructions, when executed by theprocessor, perform steps comprising: (i) operating said station on saidnetwork for maintaining communications with neighboring stations on saidnetwork; (ii) transmitting beacons using said directionalmillimeter-wave (mmW) communication on a subset of said plurality ofantenna pattern sectors for receipt by stations that are incommunication with said station sending said beacons or are nearby, saidbeacons comprising (A) sending a first type of beacon to neighboringstations on the network for managing spectrum and synchronization of thechannel; (B) sending a second type of beacon as discovery beaconstransmitted in all directions to help in discovery and announcing saidnetwork; (C) wherein both types of beacons contain a field indicatingwhich type of beacon is being sent; (iii) limiting network access tothose new stations which can be accessed with a direct mmW link bysending discovery beacons with a power level which is lowered to reflectthe mmW link budget; (iv) aiding network discovery, by supportingpassive and/or active scanning in the process of allowing a new stationto join said network; (v) transmitting a network announcementacknowledgement on the lower band from said station on said network, tosaid new station, as an acknowledgment for receiving a networkannouncement response, wherein said network announcement acknowledgementauthorizes said new station to connect to said network usingmillimeter-wave (mmW) communications, and to inform said new station ofinformation regarding a discovery campaign scheduled on the mmW band;(vi) wherein a determination of which stations are contacted, forparticipation in said discovery campaign scheduled on the mmW band forthe new station, is based on a determination of geographical discoveryzone. (vii) wherein said station in response to lower bandcommunications from said new station to join said network, switches tothe mmW band and performs beamforming between said new station and otherstations already joined on said network; and (viii) transmitting updateswith information on new sets of stations and sectors that can bediscovered as stations are moving and discovering new stations, sincecertain stations are discovering and/or losing sight with other stationsand forming new lists of neighbors.
 20. The apparatus of claim 19:wherein said geographical discovery zone can be determined throughmeasurement reporting on the network, or by utilizing an analytical cellplanning process; and wherein said geographical discovery zone can bedetermined in either: (a) a centralized process where a central entityprocesses collected neighbor lists, or (b) a distributed procedure inwhich stations send their neighbor lists to all members of its list todetermine geographical discovery zone.
 21. A method for performingwireless communication in a network, comprising: (a) generating wirelesscommunications operating under IEEE 802.11 and controlled by a processorof a station, utilizing both: (i) directional millimeter-wave (mmW)communication in a mmW band having a plurality of antenna patternsectors each having different transmission directions, and (ii) lowerband wireless communication in a lower band; (b) operating said stationon said network for maintaining communications with neighboring stationson said network; (c) transmitting beacons using said directionalmillimeter-wave (mmW) communication on a subset of said plurality ofantenna pattern sectors for receipt by other stations that are incommunication with said station sending said beacons or are nearby, saidbeacons comprising (A) sending a first type of beacon to neighboringstations on the network for managing spectrum and synchronization of thechannel; (B) sending a second type of beacon as discovery beaconstransmitted in all directions to help in discovery and announcing saidnetwork; (C) wherein both types of beacons contain a field indicatingwhich type of beacon is being sent; (d) limiting network access to thosenew stations which can be accessed with a direct mmW link by: (A)sending discovery beacons with a power level which is lowered to reflectthe mmW link budget; or (B) establishing a threshold within said stationoperating as a receiving station, in which said threshold determineswhether to respond to this frame, or not to response if it will beoutside the mmW mesh node coverage area; (e) aiding network discovery,by passive and/or active scanning, in the process of allowing a newstation to join said network; (f) transmitting a network announcementacknowledgement on the lower band from said station on said network tosaid new station, as an acknowledgment for receiving a networkannouncement response, wherein said network announcement acknowledgementauthorizes said new station to connect to said network usingmillimeter-wave (mmW) communications, and to inform said new station ofinformation regarding a discovery campaign scheduled on the mmW band;(g) wherein said station in response to lower band communications fromsaid new station to join the network, switches to the mmW band andperforms beamforming between said new station and other stations alreadyjoined on said network; and (h) transmitting updates with information onnew sets of stations and sectors that can be discovered as stations aremoving and discovering new stations, since certain stations arediscovering and/or losing sight with other stations and forming newlists of neighbors.